Barry Wolk

Thanks for the advice.

$550.00 No copper. Nickel base, only.

I have a '47 parts car I'd like to sell. Might be a good companion for that car.

I could be wrong, but I believe a jet number is the flow size, or surface area of the hole, not the drill size.

OK.

An internal combustion engine runs because of a delicate set of compromises. The most delicate of those compromises is the air/fuel mixture. All old cars ran rich which wastes fuel and really stinks, not to mention the amount of pollution it produces due to unburned hydrocarbons. Due to the improvements in fuel quality it is no longer necessary to run an engine rich. Our old Porsche wouldn't run well when we first got it. I found an independent VW mechanic that built race engines. He said that a simple jet change would cure my ills. What I never expected was for him to reduce fuel flow by 10%, curing my problem. I've mentioned this to some auto people before and they just scoffed. However, it turns out that it really does work. The jets removed were size 57. They were replaced with size 54, a 10% reduction of fuel into the air-fuel mixture. The engine quieted down and the rpm decreased so much that all you hear from the engine is the valve train. The engine runs smoother, accelerates faster and doesn't stumble at higher rpms. Win-win-win. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204702092686287&l=554007557056026893

Today was a big day. The plan was to install the windshield and rear window, both two-person jobs. Ran into a snag. I received a replacement windshield when I bought the car. It was broken in shipment so I had one made using that as a pattern. Turned out the replacement was too big. I took the windshield out of the '47 and saw that they had simply replicated a mistake. Luckily, glass is a hobby so I just happen to have a diamond router table. It's 35 years old, but served the purpose. The old spring clips that hold the moldings are miserable to work with and break through the paint when pushed into the holes. I've decided to use more substantial clips that can draw the moldings tight to the body without damaging the paint. The clips are scored every 16th of an inch and easily broken off at the desired length. They can help aligning trim by breaking off the tabs to different lengths. The base molding required 20 clips. I figure I'll need about 100 total to finish the car. The beltline molding hides the splice between the upper and lower body parts. There are 12 clips for just one hood spear. I was able to find the exact extrusion for the windshield and rear window. The material is purchased by the foot. This was clearly a fresh production run as it cut like butter. The extruded U-channel is 5/8" wide x 7/8" tall made for 1/4" glass. In order to make a good seam the bonding edges must be cut as cleanly as possible. You cut one edge square and start installing it on the glass. You mark the edge of the first cut and pull back the molding and continue installing the uncut side over the tape marking. Cut to the tape line and check the fit. Pull back both pieces of rubber and coat the flat surfaces with Krazy-glue or other similar adhesive. Using the glass as an alingnment jig compress the joint from both sides, hold for 10 seconds and you have a permanent bond. The finished windshield gasket. The windshield wouldn't fit after making the gasket. I compared it with the original and determined it was too big across the top. I brought out my diamond router/shaper and shaved the needed amount off the edge. It then fit perfectly. I stood back for a moment to take this in. That's a huge step forward. The rear window has the identical stainless-steel surround that creates a finished edge for the window opening. The rubber channel is pushed up against the stainless trim creating a tight seal. I hope. The rear window is an OEM replacement glass from the '50s. The box had nearly turned to dust, but the tempered glass curved window was in perfect shape. Other than trim pieces these are the last parts to go on the car. The engine bay is completely done. The horns sounded like squawking geese. Dave tuned them individually, so now it sounds like a nice sounding freight train. All that's left to do is to install the rest of the stainless trim, load the car with interior bits and ship it off to Tulsa. Wow. What a ride.

Yes, the last use of the Zephyr name was 1942. It was the same car after that with different trim.

Likely, or a salesman for a higher-end product. When I was growing up my father got nicer cars over time. It was an outward sign of success. He taught me that business owners liked dealing with successful people, so it may have just been a sales tool for a regular guy.

I never meant to imply that it had to be a full Classic to participate in Pebble. Our Mark II convertible was in the show two years ago, but they do have a bent towards the big "C" classics. In fact, at the encouragement of one of Pebble's recruiters I did apply, as a lark, and was promptly turned down. The car may have a V-12, but it's likely too plebeian for their show field. No problem. It's their sandbox. I'm just glad I got to play two years in a row. A Trifecta would have just been icing on the cake. Truthfully, I can understand after experiencing the field first-hand. Thankfully, not everyone sees this car as a car but as a story, too. Some think it's pretty cool that a project no one wanted gets finished, some think the aspect of a stripper-Lincoln is interesting and some like the aspect that this was likely a Salesman's car, which would be incredibly rare that it survived. So far this summer we have invitations to some excellent shows. We've been invited to the 100 Cars of Radnor Hunt, the Concours of America at St. John's and the Concours of Southwestern Michigan in St. Joseph. The dance card will fill without Pebble.

Are we looking at the same pictures? Ask West, I am the messiest assembler, ever. I don't bag and tag. I have to see parts or they disappear. They're only on shelves so I can see them. As far as "you guys" is concerned, I am a one-man show. Dave is my hired gun. He double-checks what I've done, but the work's all mine. However, he is an engine savant so I left the final touches to him. He did do the stainless grill, as I wouldn't have the patience.

I've made up my mind to use Dan Kirkpatrick Interiors for the '42 Lincoln Zephyr. Dan's a Facebook friend that thought I was some big-time restorer after following the Ruxton project. I laughed. I looked at his page and drooled. Then I went to his web site and drooled in high-def. Scotty's never been happy with the interior of the Ruxton so I recommended that he contact Dan. Dan's current commitments didn't allow him to get the Ruxton done before it shows at Amelia in March, so Scotty passed. Dan seemed to fall in love with the Zephyr and offered to guide me through material selection and even offered to assist if I decided to do it myself. He sent samples of period-correct material in the Bedford Cord installed in the car originally. He got me thinking about the interior a good 60 days before I would have been thinking about it, and for that I'm grateful. My last, last-minute, experience with an upholsterer nearly got him hurt, badly. I have plenty of time this time, and I want it done right. While this car will never make it to Pebble Beach (the lowly Lincoln Zephyr is the only V-12 American car not considered a Classic by the CCCA) it has a Pebble Beach paint job and the mechanical wherewithal to easily cruise the 75-mile Tour. It should have a Pebble-quality interior. The materials won't be what you see as they will be befitting the plebeian nature of a base car, it'll be the craftsmanship, the true sign of a luxury car. I'm hoping he'll provide lots of progress pictures. Click for detail pictures. http://www.dankirkpatrickinteriors.com/classics/ Now I just have to figure out a way to get it to Oklahoma.

I don't believe they will take a car that can't be driven. You could containerize it and ship it that way, or you could take a long vacation and assemble it there.

Everything works. I have little left to do, except trim. Some parts need to be chromed and I need to install the windshield and rear window. The kits that came with the car has the wrong size U channel so I ordered 18 feet from Steele Rubber. Soon the car will be road-worthy. Spring can't come soon enough. I'm waiting to hear back from a high-end upholsterer. I've saved so much buy buying a kit car that a nicely done interior would be icing on the cake.

People would flock to see you and your work. Modelers are very popular at Concours. There is nothing more spectacular than watching the sun set on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. You'd enjoy what the area has to offer. I plan on having 6-8 Mark IIs on display for 2016.

I've read every word. My thesaurus has run out of words of acclaim so I ceased repeating myself. I'm putting together a special class of Mark IIs for our show in St. Joseph, Michigan in late summer of 2016. How about vacationing in Michigan and showing your beauty, at whatever stage it's at? Maybe we could arrange to have your American counterpart show his car, too.

Yes, that's helpful on the 1:1. It's pretty tight in there.

Then and now, exactly 90 days.

I hadn't thought of that. Thanks, West!

It's not the copper itself, but the use of too much of it. It makes parts that are supposed to fit together "fat". When I did the Ruxton I learned a very valuable lesson; don't expect what you sent in to fit when it comes back. The second takeaway is to do the parts-fit as soon as you get them back. It was literally 10:00 at night the evening the Ruxton shipped to Pebble. I could only install one of the 6 hubcaps as the hub trims were too fat. Once the car got out there someone else went through 8 grinding wheels making the opening big enough to install the cap.

I'm thinking that Long Beach is the ship-to, also. Thanks for the lead, Jocko, I'm sending the bumper over to Micro tomorrow. I sent pictures of the worst rust. Walt quotes $500-$550 depending on how much grinding he has to do.

I would put a plate of some kind on the front, likely a duplicate of the rear. I have two different plates on my Mark II. I have a YOU manufacturer's plate on the front and a Michigan Historical plate on the back. No one's ever said a word.

The shop is actually in Wayne, which is near Romulus which is where Metro Airport is.

In 1942 Michigan had license plates that started with two letters followed by two sets of numbers. I'd love to have LZ-19-42 for the Lincoln Zephyr, but that search has come up empty. Since old YOM plates are no longer in Michigan's SOS database, what would stop me from making replica plates? The state only requires that you photocopy the plate and send that in with the paperwork. I don't see where it says the plate can't be a replica. My attorney friend, who just happens to have a huge license plate collection, has altered plates to fit his needs and thinks replica plates would be perfectly acceptable as there's no underlying reason to not use them as they simply are a means of identifying the car. Any recommendations as to who could make me a pair of plates in LV-19-42?

I sent Micro an e-mail and some pictures.